1 degree of separation

Perhaps it was some dormant insecurity that had slowly made its way up to the surface or maybe it was just as simple as her red hair. Brian had never trusted redheads but had given Sara a shot anyway and, on the surface, everything had been great. In fact, much better than great. The word love started to slosh around inside his head for the first time since those heady college days where the word seemed to leap to mind almost every other weekend. Sara was prettier than he was handsome though and this always caused him some concern.

After a year of dating this concern had manifest itself in a very odd behavior. He had contacted her through Facebook posing as another man. Sam. Very innocently at first, as if by some random chance he’d stumbled on her pictures. After all, he had said, we are all separated by less than 6 people. She had been very honest about being in a serious relationship, with him, which relieved him to no small degree. As the months passed however they began to flirt back and forth in very subtle ways.

All this time their ‘real’ relationship continued to progress and develop and all the other words that are used to describe a relationship that was inching forward carefully to avoid any further commitments.

Sara began to get more curious about his online persona and finally came right out and asked about what he looked like and where he lived. He was vague about the former and specific about the latter. He lived only a few blocks from her. A coincidence right out of a movie. She wanted to meet.

He was overjoyed. His suspicions were confirmed about redheads. He did have to admit though that a part of him had enjoyed getting to know her all over again online.

He agreed to meet.

They arranged a time at a local Irish pub. A get-together he knew he would not be attending.

The day after this meeting he went to her and accused her of wanting to see other men. It was his big moment. Would she confess? She laughed and admitted everything. The whole thing from Day One. Every conversation. Cruelly she described the man she had met … all the way down to his sexy mustache. He wondered how this could be? It was impossible, wasn’t it? The room swam briefly and he wondered how she could be so callous about this rendezvous. So unapologetic. As she explained that she typically didn’t enjoy pina coladas but had had three of them and even getting caught in the rain didn’t dampen the evening, he saw that she was actually relishing telling him about her little date.

He ran from the room before she saw the how red his cheeks were getting.

He didn’t understand how she could have met this man that didn’t exist. This wasn’t supposed to have been how it went. She was supposed to have been stood up. Embarrassed, humiliated and then busted by her loving boyfriend. He tried to breathe deeply as his trembling hand put the key in his front door. He closed the door behind him and threw the keys on the side table in the narrow hallway.

That’s when he saw it.

The BMG04 Flynn Style 100% Human Hair glue-on mustache.

EPILOGUE

Sara never talked to Brian again. He disappeared entirely and if it weren’t for Sam she didn’t know what she would have done with herself. He stepped up just when she needed a shoulder to cry on. He had arrived at the perfect time.

Still, this new mustachioed man was a bit of a mystery. She felt a tiny feeling of inadequacy stirring somewhere in her.

She wondered what she would look like as a blonde.

She signed on and created Lauren.

It was time that Lauren found a reason to introduce herself to Sam.